


Pasito a pasito, suave suavecito

by Pericardiaca



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Angst, Bad Flirting, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Idiots in Love, M/M, Mutual Pining, Schmoop, but only a tiny dash of angst, it cute!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-05
Updated: 2017-10-05
Packaged: 2019-01-09 09:38:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12273774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pericardiaca/pseuds/Pericardiaca
Summary: Being late to a meeting obviously means you have to come up with an explanation. A good explanation. A really good one.Or: The fic where the 2007 McLaren boys pretend to be in a relationship.





	Pasito a pasito, suave suavecito

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fernando](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fernando/gifts).



> I want to say two things. Sorry for using Ron Dennis as a plot device (I actually like him!) and Hamiltonso is actually the only ship that's really difficult to write for me in F1. So obviously I had to give it a try.  
> Have fun reading and I'd love you forever if you'd leave me a comment! :)

Lewis' heart was beating so fast, he was waiting for it to jump out of his chest in protest. He almost slithered into a wall when he tried to cut the corner, silently cursing the fact that apparently all the cardio and training he was doing did not expand to getting his body into hyperdrive when he was late for a meeting.  
It was just so that Lewis didn’t smack into the glass door of the meeting room. Completely out of breath and trying to hide it he scampered over to his seat and sat down. 

Obviously everyone was looking at him – but to Lewis' luck there was still someone else missing. 

"I can't believe that neither of our drivers can be punctual", mumbled the press officer and Lewis ducked his head. 

"Where is Fernando?", asked Ron Dennis in a very stern voice; looking at Lewis as if it was his fault that Fernando was late. 

"I don't know, sorry", Lewis apologised and tried to hide behind his water bottle. At least his breathing had gone back to normal. 

"Well, where the hell were you then?" Apparently the inquisition by Ron wasn't over yet. 

Lewis swallowed nervously. Ron's piercing gaze made him uncomfortable. 

"I, uhm. I was talking to a friend." 

Which wasn't a lie. He had talked to Nico and he might or might have not talked to him about Fernando and his stupid habits. One could have called it 'gossiping' but Lewis thought 'complaining' was a better description. Nico liked to call it 'gushing'. He wasn't mad enough to explain this to his boss, though. 

"Hrmpf", made Ron. He looked very suspicious and disapproving. To Lewis' luck, Fernando managed to stumble into the room just when Ron was about to ask Lewis something else. 

"Well, and where were we?" Ron immediately focused his anger on the older one of his drivers. Since Lewis wasn't the centre of attention anymore he perked up and listened. 

Fernando turned beet red before he even started to answer. 

Interesting, thought Lewis and mentally added it to the list of things he had to tell Nico. Turning red. How unprofessional. And wasn't it weird that Fernando managed that? He didn't really have a light enough complexion to show every blush. Not that Lewis had paid much attention to Fernando's face. Don't come at him like that, okay? Nico's already making fun of him for "always talking about Fernando". He almost never talked about him! 

"I was just—that's private!", Fernando blurted and was just about to finally sit down on the last remaining chair when Ron Dennis got up. 

"You two will listen to me right now." He pointed at Fernando and then over at Lewis. "I do not care that you two get the highest pay check in this room. I do not care that you're our stars. You will be as punctual as everyone else! You are both nothing without this team! And I expect reliability and professionalism from my team!" 

Lewis bit guiltily on his bottom lip. He wasn't usually late and felt like Ron might have reacted a little unfairly. Just because he didn't have a good day there was no reason to yell at him and Fernando. Because yes, this was not the first time that the Spaniard was late but – Lewis was sure that he had a good reason. 

"Maybe there are things outside of this room that are important to us too", he uttered, voicing his thoughts. Immediately the entire room went dead silent and Lewis felt everyone turning their heads into his direction – including Fernando and Ron. Well, thank god that he liked attention. 

"Excuse me", Ron exclaimed acerbically. 

"I said", Lewis repeated slowly, "that there is always a good reason behind us being late." 

Ron raised one eyebrow. "And would you mind to enlighten us about what reason that is?" 

Lewis blinked. He hadn't meant that there was one specific reason, just a reason. Indefinite article! A little helpless he looked over to Fernando who was frowning. 

"Yes, we..." Fernando seemed to hesitate as well. "We were – busy. We –" 

To start stuttering was extremely unusual for the usually so composed and self-assured Fernando. Obviously Ron picked up on that fact and when he raised his eyebrow even more Lewis wondered if it would eventually just slide on top of his head and cover Ron's bald spots. 

"You were...?" 

While the entire room was waiting for a dramatic resolve or just some good gossip, Ron got even more impatient. Was that a throbbing vein on his temple?  
Lewis rolled his eyes – well, his inner eyes. Like an inner voice, just inner eyes. Anyways, he got annoyed and decided to save Fernando with the first stupid thing he could think of: That they were looking at some tyre data together. 

But just when Lewis started to say "We were together-", Fernando seemed to have found his voice again and announced with vigour: "We were waiting for the right moment-" 

Lewis could barely suppress a snort because, yeah, that was such a Fernando thing to say. Waiting for the right moment so they could have the entrance of the day when they'd finally arrive. 

It took a choking noise courtesy of Ron Dennis for Lewis to realise that Nando hadn't completed his sentence since Lewis had spoken as well. 

"You were waiting for the right moment to tell us that you're together?!" If Ron had raised his voice into yelling before he was now screeching. 

Fernando's and Lewis' eyes met over the table. Clearly conveying panic, Fernando seemed to be back in his stammering state. 

In a sudden impulse of sassiness, Lewis declared: "Yes. We are. Is this going to be an issue?" 

Nothing wrong with a little prank on Ron after that drama about being late for a few minutes, right? 

Ron choked out a "No, not at all" and finally took his eyes off of Fernando and him. Lewis sighed and started to ignore everyone when Ron at last began the meeting. 

 

#

 

"Are you completely insane?!", hissed a voice with a heavy Spanish accent into Lewis' ear. The accompanying tight hold on his arm pulled Lewis into an empty conference room. 

"No, I just saved your ass from getting yelled at even more", Lewis gave back. 

Fernando did not seem to accept this explanation. "You have no idea what you just started, cabrón!" His dark eyes sparkled with anger and agitation and suddenly Lewis realised that he was breathing heavily enough that Lewis could feel it against his face. They were standing way too close. Lewis took a step back.

"Relax, Ron will be happy when he finds out we were just pulling his leg. We should ensure that he finds it out when he's having a good day, though. His head might actually explode otherwise." The little joke did not make Fernando relax a single bit. 

"This is not only about Ron!", Fernando snapped. "Do you want to play house today so he won't find out?" 

Lewis frowned. "Why would we have to play house? He won't expect us to do anything different from usual." 

Fernando hid his face in his hands for a moment before running his fingers through his unruly hair. "You told the entire team that we're involved in a romantic relationship. Of course they expect us to act differently!"

For a few seconds Lewis kept silent. "Okay, let's assume you're right for a moment."

"There's nothing to assume", Fernando snorted. "I am right." 

"Yes, okay, let's _assume_ that." The repeated emphasis made Fernando narrow his eyes. "What would that even entail? Pretending we're a couple, I mean. A little holding hands, I can call you 'darling' and you call me some weird Spanish nickname and that's it?" 

Fernando shrugged. "I don't care, as long as Ron doesn't yell at me again." 

With a long-suffering sigh, Lewis rolled his eyes. "Well?" 

"Yeah, yeah, mi amor. I won't forget to hold your hand." Fernando tried to sound as casual as possible to hide how fast his heart was beating. Lewis didn't seem to be bothered by the situation at all and that unsettled him even more. 

The real reason why he had been late was that Fernando had talked to Mark about – Lewis. Fernando was pretty sure that he had emotions for the younger driver that should not be there. Lewis was a little brat but of course Fernando's heart had to decide to clench every time his stupid pretty face showed up somewhere. Of course Fernando had to relish the smell of sweaty Lewis after a long training session instead of being disgusted by it. Of course Fernando had to fall in love with a rookie who happened to be his team mate. 

That was at least Mark's diagnosis. "You're in love with him", had he said as if it was obvious when Fernando finished his rant about how Lewis offended him by looking too good and smiling too brightly. It was rude to smile in a way that made his heart stop. Mark hadn't accepted this remark and just looked at Fernando as if he was stupid. 

However long he had tried to deny it – and it had been long enough to make him late for the meeting! – now fate had managed to bring him into a fake relationship with the object of his desire. Err, object of his rivalry. Oh god, now Fernando started to admit this stupid crush himself. 

At least he hadn't stuttered this time. Or blushed. Arguing with Lewis was easy. 

 

#

 

"Take my bloody hand", Lewis whispered when they finally emerged from the conference room and made their way downstairs. 

With a little sigh, Fernando gave in to what he truly wanted and took Lewis' hand. Okay, he wouldn't ever have it for real but a little taste of it was better than nothing, wasn't it? 

They walked through the lobby in ice cold silence until an employee suddenly appeared in their way. "Hi!", she said and grinned. "I'm sorry, I know I'm unimportant and shouldn't stop you from doing driver-y things but I just wanted to tell you how very brave you are. As a fellow LGBT+ member I'm so happy to see that you're open about your relationship. Thanks, really. It means a lot. You're my idols!" 

The woman smiled brightly at them and Lewis suddenly felt guilty. He put his arm around Fernando's waist and pulled him closer, using enough power to overcome his initial resistance. 

"No, thank you", he answered. "Thanks for your support. Means a lot!" And that wasn't even a complete lie, Lewis was not as straight as formula one drivers were supposed to be, so... LGBTQ+ support for the win!

The employee winked at them and then disappeared again, leaving them standing awkwardly in the middle of the lobby. 

"What now", Fernando mumbled, trying to avoid looking into Lewis' eyes. 

"Well, if you'd stop acting weird around me for one second we could just straight up march out of here!"

"I'm not acting weird!", Fernando immediately protested. "And I think all opportunities to do anything _straight_ are gone." 

Lewis snorted and a tiny grin spread over his face. "You are an idiot, darling." 

Fernando bit his lip when the butterflies in his tummy started a very aggressive dance upon being called that nickname. "Stop calling me that, mi amor." 

That seemed to make Lewis uncomfortable. He actually stared at Fernando for a good five seconds, looking at Fernando's mouth as if he was considering to put the Spanish words literally back into his mouth. 

"Uhm, yeah, let's go." 

Lewis started to guide Fernando through the lobby, but the arm around his waist had tensed up. A quick glance at Lewis confirmed that he was uneasy. 

Great, that was probably the end of their little boyfriend adventure - Lewis had probably realised that everyone in the lobby was staring at them.

But Lewis just seemed to be even more determined not to let go of Fernando; he had pulled him even closer. Ron was standing next to Lewis' physiotherapist and they stopped right in front of them. Fernando expected Lewis to pull away as quickly as possible but Lewis seemed to rather dawdle in Fernando's arms than talk to Ron. Understandable, but still. 

Trying to unwrap Lewis from himself, Fernando placed his hands on Lewis' hips. As if this was the cue he had been waiting for, Lewis suddenly leaned up and kissed Fernando right on the lips. It was a soft kiss; a kiss that made Fernando's nerves tingle and his heart somersault, a kiss that almost tasted like a promise. Chasing Lewis' lips by leaning forward a little to prolong the kiss when Lewis pulled back, Fernando came back into reality. No promise. Just an act. 

"See you later, darling", Lewis said loud enough that everyone who was even remotely close could hear and left a slightly shocked Fernando standing there on his own when he made his way to his physiotherapist. 

Fernando licked his lips. It had been little more than a chaste press of lips but still. He wanted Lewis. This wasn't only a crush anymore, he wanted Lewis badly. Not only in a physical way but also in the protect-him-from-Ron-and-all-evil way. The cuddle way. The sharing his life way. 

Fernando was fucked. 

 

#

 

Lewis was still wearing leggings and a loose stringer tank top, towel wrapped around his neck when he came back from his training session – and ran into Fernando. 

"Oh, thank you, darling!", Lewis exclaimed when Fernando had steadied him and prevented him from falling back on his ass by placing his hands on Lewis' hips. 

"There is no need to keep up this charade", Fernando said harshly and tried to detach himself from Lewis as quickly as possible. "No one around to witness it anyway." 

"What if I like it?" Lewis grinned at Fernando, but Nando just took a big step backwards.

"Listen", he said in such a calm tone that didn't fit his personality at all. "I'm sorry I dragged you into this by repeatedly being late. I never knew that it would lead to all this. We need to stop this. I'll go tell Ron that it was my idea or something, it's fine, just leave me alone, please." 

Lewis could immediately place why Fernando sounded so weird. He had learned this speech by heart. "Wait", Lewis called before Fernando could turn around. "I didn't mean to sound so condescending just now, I meant it." 

With a shrug, Fernando apparently waited for Lewis to elaborate his statement. 

"Uhm... I meant it, Nando", Lewis repeated, now slightly impatient and unknowingly distracted Fernando from every clear thought with the use of that nickname. Fernando had to blink twice to get back into reality. "You meant what?" 

"That I like this!" Lewis made an all-encompassing gesture in Fernando's direction. "I mean, yes, maybe the kiss wasn't the best idea to, uhm, test the waters. But... I mean, the entire fake relationship thing was already stupid so I thought no risk, no fun."

Frowning, Fernando crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Great, one more reason for me to get away as quickly as possible. May I remind you that you don't like me? Find someone who isn't your rival for your fun kissing experiments." With a thunderous expression Fernando turned around and started to finally walk away when Lewis yelled after him: "But I don't want to be your rival!" 

That made Fernando stop. He still didn't turn around through; this entire situation had completely gotten out of control and turned into one gigantic mess. 

"I just wanted to go for it." Anxiously rubbing the back of his neck, Lewis walked around Fernando so he could face him again. "I meant that I kissed you because I finally wanted to stop pining over you by... you know, complaining over you instead. I tried to go for flirty? Like, the kind that says 'I'm not only crushing on you I really like you'. But... uhm. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have kissed you like that." 

Normally so self-confident, Lewis had gotten more and more insecure the more he talked. 

Fernando's expression didn't change at all and he stared at Lewis for a few heartbeats. 

"Are you trying to tell me that you like me?" 

Slightly sheepish, Lewis nodded. "I wasn't opposed to the fake relationship because I wouldn't be to... a real one either. It just surprise me today how very little I'd be opposed to a real one."

Fernando made a step in Lewis' direction until he awkwardly froze again. "So when I'd kiss you now...?" 

Lewis couldn't suppress a tiny giggle. "I never imagined myself to be the one in charge with you but I'm not complaining." 

And with that he was all up in Fernando's space, slid his hands into Fernando's soft hair and pulled him close until he could kiss him. In contrast to their first very sweet kiss, Fernando didn't let a second pass before he grabbed Lewis' hips and kissed him back with all the passion and confusion and emotion that had been building up inside of him all day long. 

He walked Lewis back until his back hit the wall next to them and pushed him up against it, intensifying the kiss even further when his hands wandered over Lewis' ass. They only parted when they had to gulp for air, but they still leaned their foreheads against each other. 

"You are an idiot", Fernando announced out of breath. 

"Why's that?", Lewis asked, not at all phased by the name-calling. 

Fernando quickly kissed him again before he whispered against Lewis' lips: "Because I liked you back the entire time." 

He tried to deepen the kiss again, but Lewis just kept talking into his mouth. "Wait, what?! Then why did you try to break up with me?" 

Rolling his eyes, Fernando pulled back again. "A), we weren't really together so it was not a break up. I simply did not want to have a cupcake in front of me the entire time without being allowed to eat it. And B), can you stop talking?" 

Lewis chuckled and kissed Fernando again until he suddenly realised: "Hey, wait. Did you just compare me to a cupcake? Does that mean you want to eat me?" The grin Lewis was now sporting made Fernando blush, but he quickly regathered his wits. "At the moment I just want to find out what I have to do to make you shut up."

"Oh," Lewis said and turned his dirty grin into the most angelic smile Fernando had ever seen. "I have a nice idea for that!"

~Fin~


End file.
